Soap Opera Digest
November 23, 2004
Crazy Train

Tracking The Wacky Life Of OLTL’s Resident Loon, Lindsay

What was supposed to be a one-day stint turned into seven years and counting. During her time in Llanview, Lindsay has been a busy lady – her misdeeds include drugging rival Nora, escaping from prison, killing ex-hubby Sam…and chaining ex-lover Troy to a fun house wheel. But it seems that no matter what she does, Lindsay (aka “Loonsey”) always has the fans rooting for her. “They just want to see her happy,” muses portrayer Catherine Hickland, who originated the role in 1998. “They feel sorry for her. So, they want to see her get her comeuppance for the things she does, but then they want her to do even more.”

1998

“I was cast on ONE LIFE, which was the show I wanted to be on for years, so that was a big thrill,” Hickland recalls. Lindsay Rappaport followed her ex-husband, Sam, to Llanview and promptly hooked up with Clint, who had recently broken up with Viki. Clint and Lindsay soon wed. That year, Lindsay also had Bo’s medical tests tampered with to make it look like he couldn’t have children. Nora ended up sleeping with Sam so she could try to get pregnant and give Bo a baby. Lindsay’s obsession with Sam and Nora, plus her decision to give Jessica and Christian money to elope, caused Clint to end their union.

1999

Lindsay moved on to Clint’s brother, Bo. The only problem was getting Bo’s ex (and Lindsay’s rival), Nora, out of the way. Lindsay did so by bribing a lab tech to have Bo’s DNA tests meddled with so that it looked like Nora’s son, Matthew, was actually Sam’s. Later, a drunk Lindsay ‘fessed up about the switch to Sam. She and Sam grew suspicious when Bo and Nora ended up trapped in a warehouse together.

2000

Nora and Lindsay’s rivalry heated up when Nora informed Bo of Lindsay’s crime on what was supposed to have been his and Linds’s wedding day. Lindsay then blamed Nora for causing her miscarriage. Later, after surviving a train wreck, Nora was taken in by Lindsay’s brother-in-law, Dr. Colin MacIver. He and Lindsay injected Nora with a memory-erasing drug. “I think Lindsay/Nora was one of the greatest soap couples ever,” praises Hickland. “[Hillary B. Smith, Nora] and I had amazing chemistry. Even though we were both women, we were a supercouple. That’s very rare. It was a great pleasure, plus it was a hot story and people loved it. We enjoyed going out together because we’re very good friends. People would get a kick out of seeing us together. It was a great source of pride for us both. We both miss it.”

2001

Lindsay was accused of murder when Colin’s body was discovered; turns out that Nora killed him in self-defense. Lindsay then turned her attention to keeping her daughter, Jennifer, from marrying Christian. She even created a website called www.hottiebaresall.com that filmed Cris in his bedroom. Jen overheard Lindsay admit to setting up Cris and blasted her mother. Lindsay also continued to cause trouble for Sam and Nora.

2002

Lindsay continued to manipulate Jen and Cristian, even messing with Jen’s pregnancy test to make it look like her daughter was carrying Al’s baby (but she wasn’t pregnant). Meanwhile, Colin’s twin, Troy, who had a thing for Nora, pretended to fall for Lindsay so he could trick her into admitting what she had done to Nora. But when he lured her to an abandoned fun house and tried to tape her, she ended up imprisoning him on a fun house wheel. Troy and the confession tape were soon discovered and Lindsay was arrested. “I have to say that prison was my favorite storyline because we did such imaginative things in there,” chuckles Hickland. “It was full of humor and drama and Barbara Garrick [Allison] was my acting partner. It was also the time that the audience got to feel sorry for this girl they’d come to love to hate so much. Plus, we did the all-musical episode [Babes Behind Bars] and Live Week was great because it was during the prison storyline.”

2003

Lindsay escaped from jail and tormented Troy about his past love, Joanna. Troy slept with her to keep her quiet. Meanwhile, Mitch began tormenting her and Lindsay became unhinged. Thinking Troy was cheating on her, she went to shoot him…and ended up killing Sam. She was then placed in a mental institution, but released later that year. “Ty [Treadway, ex-Troy/Colin] was a great surprise because when he came on the show, he was there for Nora and we ended up becoming this huge thing,” notes Hickland. “It was a sick, but hot, relationship. They tried to put Nora and Troy together, but I don’t know if that worked. You can’t manufacture chemistry. It’s undefinable magic that the audience relates to.”

2004

Lindsay turned to Jen’s ex-husband, Rex, for comfort, despite having a suitor closer to her age – Daniel Colson. In spite of Jen’s anguish, Lindsay was unable to stay away from Rex…until she overheard him say that he didn’t care for her. Lindsay and Jen are still estranged. Nora is dating Daniel and Paul briefly tried to work Lindsay. Of the guys, Hickland opines, “R.J. and Lindsay have a very interesting chemistry. I think Lindsay also could’ve had amazing chemistry with David. You have to understand that the manner in which I approach my work is, ‘How can I entertain people?’ I don’t overanalyze it to death; I just have fun. I think that’s why I’ve been in this business for so long, and why the audience roots for Lindsay. I love this genre. Can’t you tell [laughs]?”